Effect of the deposition technique on the metallurgy and hydrogen storage characteristics of metastable MgyTi(1-y) thin films

MgyTi(1-y) alloys with 0.50¿¿¿¿.00 were prepared by electron beam deposition and magnetron co-sputter deposition. The effects of the deposition technique are discussed in two ways: the metallurgy of the as-deposited films and the hydrogen storage characteristics. In spite of the fact that for both preparation methods similar unit cell dimensions are found, the broader XRD peaks of e-beam deposited alloys indicate a relatively small grain size. Electrochemical characterization of the compounds upon (de)hydrogenation shows that the deposition method does not significantly influence the hydrogen capacity and kinetics. Moreover, essentially the same cycle-life behavior is found for both types of alloys.